Major Electronics Unions Demand 7,000-Yen Pay Scale Hike

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)--Major Japanese electronics makers' labor unions sought a monthly pay scale hike of 7,000 yen Thursday, more than double their 2022 request, in the ongoing "shunto" annual wage negotiations.

The focus is whether the management will raise wages in accordance with price increases for daily necessities that reflect high materials prices and a weaker yen. Many employers will give their responses March 15.

On Thursday, Miyuki Hanzawa, central executive committee head of Hitachi Ltd.'s <6501> union, submitted a wage hike request to Executive Officer Kenichi Tanaka.

Ahead of this, Tanaka told reporters that Hitachi will consider raising salaries in light of the recent inflation and its wage hikes in the past years.

"We'll engage in negotiations from a medium- to long-term perspective in a comprehensive way, rather than mechanically reflecting price increases in a single fiscal year," he also said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]